Friday, March 16, 2007
What can you learn about ancient Greece from Hollywood?
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Classics Reading Group Strikes Again...

Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Chimpanzees 'hunt using spears'
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
CCI Introduction-Bibliography
An Introduction
to Ancient History & Literature
BIBLIOGRAPHY I
General
Braudel, F. On History [trans. Sarah Matthews] (London, 1980)
Burkert, W. Babylon, Memphis, Persepolis : eastern contexts of Greek culture
(Cambridge, Mass., 2004)
Childe, V. Gordon What happened in history (Harmondsworth, 1954)
Social evolution (London, 1957)
Finley, M. I. The Ancient Economy (London, 1973)
(ed.) Atlas of classical archaeology (London, 1977)
Fornara, C.W. The nature of history in ancient Greece & Rome (Berkeley, Calif., 1983)
Humphrey, John W. [edd.] Greek & Roman Technology: a sourcebook (London, 1988)
Momigliano, A. Alien Wisdom: the Limits of Hellenization (Cambridge, 1975)
The classical foundations of modern historiography (Berkeley, Calif., 1990)
Starr, C. A History of the Ancient World (New York, 1974)
Prehistory
Cauvin, J. The Birth of the Gods & the Origins of Agriculture [trans. Trevor Watkins] (Cambridge, 2000)
Cunliffe, B [ed.] The Oxford illustrated history of prehistoric Europe (Oxford,2001)
Delson, E. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of human evolution & prehistory (New York, 2000)
Megarry, T. Society in prehistory: the origins of human culture (London, 1995)
The Cambridge Ancient History vol. I pts I & 2 (London, 1970)
McKern, S. Living prehistory : an introduction to physical anthropology and archaeology (Menlo Park, Calif., 1974)
Near East
Mesopotamia- Hattusa- Persia
Van de Mieroop, M. A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC (Oxford, 2004)
Von Soden, W. The Ancient Orient [trans. Donald Schley] (Darmstadt, 1985)
Egypt
Evans, A. The palace of Minos : a comparative account of the successive stages of the early Cretan civilization as illustrated by the discoveries at Knossos vol. 1-4 (London, 1921-35)
Finley, M.I. Early Greece : the Bronze and Archaic ages (London, 1970)
Fitton, J. Lesley Minoans (London, 2002)
The discovery of the Greek Bronze Age (Cambridge, Mass., 1996)
Cycladic Art (Cambridge, Mass., 1989)
Higgins, R. Minoan & Mycenaean Art (London, 1967)
Renfrew, C. The emergence of civilisation : the Cyclades and the Aegean in the third millennium B.C. (London, 1972)
Palmer, L.R. Mycenaeans and Minoans : Aegean prehistory in the light of the linear B tablets (London, 1961)
Van Effenterre, H. La Seconde Fin du Monde (Toulouse, 1974)
Mediterranean Movers:
Etruscans- Phoenicians- Celts
Where the Dewey number is not given look at 913.377
Arthur, P. ‘Problems of the urbanisation of Pompeii’, Antiquaries Journal 66 (1986), 29-44. 913.4205 ANT
Coarelli, F. Pompeii (New York, 2002) 937.7 POMP
Connolly, P. Pompeii (London, 1979) 937. 7 CONN
Cooley, A. Pompeii (London, 2003) 937.7 COOL
Etienne, R. Pompeii: the day a city died (London, 1992).
Jongman, W .M. The economy and society of Pompeii (Amsterdam, 1988). 937. 7 Laurence, R Roman Pompeii: space and society (London, 1994), 937. 7
Ling, R. ‘The architecture of Pompeii’, Journal of Roman Archaeology 4 (1991), 248-55. 913.3705 JOU
Richardson, L Pompeii. An architectural History (Baltimore 1988) DA 722.7
Ridgway, D. The First Western Greeks (Cambridge, 1992).
Wallace-Hadrill, A. Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum (Princeton, 1994).
Wallace-Hadrill, A. ‘Public honour and private shame: the urban texture of Pompeii’, in Cornell, T. & Lomas K. (edd), Urban Society in Roman Italy (New York, 1995), 39-62
Ward-Perkins, J.B. Cities of ancient Greece and Italy: planning in classical antiquity
(New York, 1974).
Whittaker, C.R. ‘The consumer city revisited: the vicus and the city’, Journal of Roman Archaeology 3 (1990), 110-18.
Whittaker, CR, Do theories of the ancient city matter?’, in Cornell, T. & Lomas K. (edd), Urban Society in Roman Italy (New York, 1995), 9-26
Zanker, P*. Pompeii: public and private life; translated by D.L. Schneider. (Cambridge Mass., 1998)
Homerica
Finley, M. I. The World of Odysseus (New York, 2002) [very important: on short loan]
The ancient Greeks : an introduction to their life and thought (New York, 1963)
Latacz, J. Homer: his art & his world (Michigan, 1996) [short loan]
Monday, March 05, 2007
CCI Term I Essay Questions
Classical Civilization I
MMVII
-Term I-
Essay Questions
1. Explain what the most significant differences are between human life under Paleolithic and Mesolithic conditions and life after the Neolithic transitions.
2. Discuss what is meant by the term ‘Civilization’ and exemplify some of the features you consider definitive. Draw for examples from Mesopotamian and/or Egyptian history.
3. Reflect on the importance of the mastery of agriculture for the birth of cities and the historical development of civilization.
4. Discuss the emergence of writing in the ancient past and its consequences for history.
5. Discuss the political, social and economic effects of one or more forms of technologies considered in this course.
6. Discuss the significance of the Mediterranean Sea in shaping the histories of Mediterranean peoples in the 2nd Millenium BC.
7. Survey the history of Crete in its Mediterranean context from Minoan Civilization to the Dark Ages.
8. Survey the history of Greece from the Mycenaean Bronze Age through the collapse of the Dark Age to Homer and the beginning of the Archaic Period.
9. Survey the history of Pompeii in its Mediterranean context.
10. Discuss the question of the composition of the Odyssey.
11. Compare and contrast the epics of Gilgamesh and Odysseus.
12. What are some of the values manifested in the Odyssey?
These essay assignments are due on March 16th and 23rd 2007 no later than 17h00, without exception. You may choose to answer either two questions at 750 to 1000 words each or one at 1500-1800 words long. If you choose to do two smaller assignments the first must be handed in on March 16th the second March 23rd. You may, of course hand in a longer assignment any time up to Friday March 23rd . Consult relevant works and write plain lucid English. Do not use internet encyclopaedias, do not plagiarize. Quote and discuss analytically rather than paraphrase. Reference the works you have used in the same format as you find in your reader, for example:
Braudel, Fernand The Mediterranean in the Ancient World [trans. Siân Reynolds] (London, 2001)
or
Starr, Chester G. A History of the Ancient World (Oxford, 1965)
You must include a signed declaration of scholarly honesty, a bibliography of works referenced, page numbers and a word count.
Wherever possible substantiate your assertions with reference to specific historical evidence and important works of relevant scholarship. If you wish use photographs, maps, pictures or graphs of any kind that are pertinent to your discussion, just remember to acknowledge all sources.
You will not be judged very harshly for this first assignment, but you must try to excell. I shall look for evidence of a critical historical awareness, signs that you have internalized information and reflected on the meaning of historical processes and can read, interpret and analyse works pertinent to your given question.
Most important: Enjoy yourself...
Economic Liberation for Women
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
A History of Babylonia and Assyria
Myths of Babylonia & Assyria
Friday, February 23, 2007
Map of Mesopotamia
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Rome Versus Jerusalem: on a clash of Ancient Civilizations
Monday, February 19, 2007
Some more recent information about Climate Change
All Senior Students at Rhodes Welcome to the First Reading Group Meeting of 2007

Think you have a soul? Is it immortal? What did Plato think?
75 African Str. Directly opposite the Alec Mullins Sports Centre. Wednesday, February 21st, 19h00ish onwards.
The first meeting of the year.
Hitting back at joyless ignorance, we explore the finest things.
See you there,
David
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Antony and Cleopatra: coin find changes the faces of history
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Guardian Article on Feral Children
Monday, February 12, 2007
School of Languages Film Series

Friday, February 09, 2007
Classical Civilization I: An Outline of your forthcoming Reader

-MMVII-
-Maps & Timelines-
1.
Pre-History & The Rise of Civilizations
“...one must think big, otherwise what is the point of history.”
Fernand Braudel
Braudel, Fernand The Mediterranean in the Ancient World [trans. Siân Reynolds] (London, 2001) 11-199
Starr, Chester G. A History of the Ancient World (Oxford, 1965) 75-143
2.
Cities & Colonizations
Starr, Chester G. A History of the Ancient World (Oxford, 1965) 185-227
Owens, E.J. The City in the Greek & Roman World (London, 1991) 1-29, 100-102
3.
A Case Study: Pompeii
Zanker, Paul Pompeii- public & private life (Cambridge, Mass., 1998) 1-133
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Greek I

A Humanist Education at Rhodes
Erasmus of Rotterdam, hero of the Rhodes Classics Department,was “…the first and greatest intellectual superstar of the modern West…Erasmus had a mission with Greek. He wrote repeatedly about learning Greek and tirelessly performed his role of demanding, cajoling, teaching, stimulating knowledge of Greek in cities across Europe, often in the face not just of apathy but of organized and extended opposition.” Simon Goldhill in Who Needs Greek? (Cambridge, 2002) 14-15
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Welcome to Classics at Rhodes 2007
..We offer Greek, Latin and courses in Classical Civilizations. Why should you study Classics? The following paragraphs explain why.
Who needs Classics
Dimidium facti qui coepit habet: sapere aude
In Classics, Greek and Latin you will read for a degree that will challenge you to be analytically intelligent and imaginatively open minded. While the content of this education will be the history, myth, geography, culture, literature and languages of the Ancient World, the very modern methods and techniques we cultivate in you will enhance your appreciation of and ability in all subjects. If once a classical education was the preserve of the aristocratic classes, today Classics graduates are highly sought in the professions and for the managing classes. It is traditionally recognized as a subject in which the very best flourish and develop the abilities indispensable for demanding environments. These are such as the skill to synthesize all manner of information into the clear picture of a dynamic system; to master language and rhetoric and its effect on oneself and others; discovering patterns and being alert to continuities across broad spectrums of disciplines.
Above all, Classics gives depth to an education, which otherwise would remain superficial. Modern English literature, psychology, sociological and anthropological techniques, all the modern human sciences, were founded in the Enlightenment and revolutionized in the 20th Century by students of the Ancient World. The entire environment of modernity is built in a landscape first elaborated by the Greeks and their younger cousins the Romans. Christianity, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and even chaotic Modernism were all inspired and realized by men and women with a deep sense of their being rooted in history, who knew that they would make nothing new and original without a knowledge of the past and tradition. Erasmus, Shakespeare, Karl Marx, Nietzsche, all the English Romantic poets, T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), TS Eliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Sigmund Freud, Michel Foucault, several British prime ministers are just a few of those whose achievements were quite consciously founded upon or informed by their early Classical education. To remain ignorant of the formative phases of human history is to remain uneducated in the fuller sense of the term, a dazzled outsider.
Greek and Latin are strange and difficult ancient languages. They are demanding and only for the most curious and determined of students. Anyone who studies them with application will have for the rest of her or his life a source of infinite delight and constantly renewed discovery. As long as one lives, one will never be able to read all of Greek literature, but you can never be poor once you can read Greek. Studying Latin too will enable you to read and participate in the great living tradition of literary and scholarly investigation and exploration. One can remain overwhelmed by the greatness of those who lived before ourselves or one can decide not to be excluded but to learn, to know and master so that one can participate fully in the dialogues of learning and governing. Classics is the study for future rulers and leaders. Most of all, for me, the fascination of the Mediterranean crossroads, the pleasures of Greek and Latin literature, the history of ideas and the exuberant, enterprising vitality of Hellenic culture have made me determined to devote my life to these studies.
The study of these languages is an uncommon privilege available here at Rhodes and flourishing. Take advantage to possess the most enabling and empowering kind of knowledge, a mastering literacy in cultural forms. From the ages of 18-24 is the best period in a life to study a language. One is mature enough to grasp the complexities of a difficult new discipline but still young enough to absorb and memorize with great ease. People who do not take this opportunity always regret it. It is the best kind of adventure because it never ends. Many of our senior students are staff members from other departments who have grown to love the discipline so much they wish to never stop studying it. Within two weeks you will be able to read out and pronounce Greek. Greek was the most important global language for a millennium. Compare that with English, an infant which has only been prominent for about 150 years. This is why the original language of the New Testament is Greek and why, written in an easy form of the Mediterranean lingua franca, early Christians succeeded in getting across their message. Roman and later European education was based on its study up until the 20th Century. The History of Western thought and advancement is a history of a continually renewed relationship with its Greek origins. Consider taking up Greek and Latin.
You will read a great deal in Classics and be expected to develop the observant and investigative skills of a lawyer, a journalist, a critic, a geographer, historian, mythographer and logician. Your knowledge of English and your ability to express yourself lucidly will be greatly enhanced when you take advantage of the demanding activities, resources and assessments we offer. In the dedicated study of the Ancient World you will acquire a mastery of cultural forms, which will be commanding and very impressive to others. Our curricula are expanding and our department growing. We are establishing a strong community of scholarship and research. We are very involved in the organization of the School of Languages and International Office film series, which runs throughout the year. We offer access to the private study of several languages in the new Language Labs and we run a very successful and popular reading group for our senior students, which meets fortnightly for wine and sociable reading in translation of the great works of the past.
If you think Classics is an easy option, be warned it is not for the lazy. If, however, you are inquisitive about the world around you and the strong world that came before, if you wish to understand why things are as they are, why we think and speak and write and build and fight and love and argue and analyse and study as we do; if you enjoy the excitement of travel and learning; if you may identify with the Hellenic ideals of intellectual exploration, vitality and life as a striving for excellence; if you wish to be challenged in your assumptions and become truly well educated and to also nurture your imaginative powers, welcome to the Department of Classics.
David van Schoor
Department of Classics, School of Languages
d.vanschoor@ru.ac.za
j.jackson@ru.ac.za
The following link will take you to an interesting discussion of the kinds of jobs that Classics Majors can expect to find:
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Roman Poetry
This is preliminary, please occasionally check this weblog for further updates and elaborations. Within the next week I will add links and load further readings and articles.
Roman Poetry I
How to read a Roman Poem
Texts
Grant, M. (trans.) ‘Pro Caelio’in Cicero: selected political speeches
(Harmondsworth, 1969)
Whigam, P. (trans.) The poems of Catullus (Berkeley, 1966)
Introduction
Easterling, P.E. & Knox, B.M.W. Cambridge History of Classical Literature, vol.1 Greek Literature (Cambridge, 1985)
Kenney, E.J. (ed.) Cambridge History of Classical Literature, vol. 2 Latin Literature
(Cambridge, 1982)
Hutchinson, G.O. Hellenistic Poetry (Oxford, 1990)
Catullus, Cicero, women in the ancient world
Arkins, B. Sexuality in Catullus (Hildesheim, 1982)
Bauman, R. Women & politics in the ancient world (London, 1992)
Bing, P. & Cohen, R. (edd.) Games of Venus : an anthology of Greek and Roman
erotic verse from Sappho to Ovid (New York, 1991)
Fitzgerald, W. Catullan provocations: lyric poetry & the drama of position
(Berkeley, 1995)
Fordyce, C.J. Catullus: a commentary (Oxford, 1961)
Geffcken, K. Comedy in the Pro Caelio (Leiden, 1973)
Goold, G.P. (ed.) Catullus edited with introduction, translation & notes (London, 1983)
Greene, E. The erotics of domination : male desire and the mistress in Latin Love
Poetry (Baltimore, 1998)
Discourses of desire: modes of self-represntation in greek & latin love poetry
(Michigan, 1994)
Griffin, J. Latin poets and roman life (London, 1985)
Hawley, R. & Levick, B. (edd.) Women in antiquity: new assesments (London, 1995)
Lyne, R. The Latin love poets: fom Catullus to Horace (Oxford, 1980)
Macmullen, R. Roman social relations 50 B.C. to A.D. 284 (New Haven, 1974)
Pomeroy, S. B. Goddesses, whores, wives & slaves: women in classical antiquity
(New York, 1975)
Putnam, M.C.J. Essays on Latin lyric, elegy and epic (New Jersey, 1982)
Quinn, K. The Catullan Revolution (Cambridge, 1969)*- this is a very helpful
work, since it has not arrived here yet, order it through inter
library loans.
(ed.) Approaches to Catullus (Cambridge, 1972)
Catullus- the poems (London, 1973)
Ross, D. Style & tradition in Catullus (Cambridge, Mass., 1969)
Veyne, P. Roman erotic elegy: love, poetry and the West [trans. Pellauer, D.] (Chiacago, 1988)
Wheeler, A.L. Catullus & the traditions of ancient poetry (Berkeley, 1934)
Whitaker, R. Myth and personal experience in Roman love-elegy : a study in poetic technique (Goettingen, 1983)
Williams, G. Tradition & originality on roman poetry (Oxford, 1968)
Wiseman, T.P. Catullus & his world: a reappraisal (Cambridge, 1985)
Wood, N. Cicero’s social & political thought (Berkeley, 1988)
Wray, D. Catullus & the poetics of roman manhood (Cambridge, 2001)
Essay questions
1. Assume that Lesbia is also the Clodia of Cicero’s diatribe and discuss her representation in the works of Catullus and Cicero.
2. Discuss some of the questions of tradition and originality in roman poetry with
special reference to the work of Catullus.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Further excellent reading for Tragedy:
See especially on Zeus, pp. 125-31; Athena- Apollo- Artemis, pp. 139- 152 & Chp. V pp.216- 222
Monday, March 27, 2006
CC II 2006 Tragedy further recommended reading
Easterling, P.E. (ed.) The Cambridge companion to Greek Tragedy * (Cambridge, 1997)
Goldhill, S. Reading Greek Tragedy * (Cambridge, 1986), especially chpp.1-3
Segal, E. (ed.) Oxford readings in Greek Tragedy * (Oxford, 1983), especially 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 21, 22, 27, 28
* = on short loan
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
The Oresteia- an introduction
9 March- 4 April 2005
David van Schoor, Arts 11
Prescribed text:
Grene, D., Doniger O’Flaherty, W. (trans.) The Oresteia (Chicago, 1989)
Essay Questions
Choose one of the following questions and submit a coherent, thoughtful and well informed reply of about 1500 words by noon on April 3rd. It must be clear from your work firstly that you have read Aeschylus’ text closely and well and secondly that you have handled additional relevant scholarly work on the text with intelligence and insight. No extensions will be allowed.
1. Discuss the concept of justice and law as it is revealed in the Oresteian Trilogy.
2. Observe and discuss the nature of human and divine relations in the Oresteia.
3. Discuss the figures of Zeus and Apollo in the Oresteia, how do their natures and actions reflect the meaning of the trilogy.
4. Discuss the origins of athenian tragedy.
5. Is greek tragedy more civic and political discourse or religious ritual, entertaining spectacle and psychological catharsis?
6. What is the significance of Dionysus in the understanding of greek tragedy?
Bibliography
On Short Loan:
Clark, G. Women in the Ancient World. Oxford University Press, 1989.
Goldhill, S. Language, Sexuality, Narrative: the Oresteia. Cambridge University
Press, 1984.
Kitto, H.D.F. Form and Meaning in Drama Methuen, 1956.
Lefkowitz, M. Women in Greek Myth Duckworth, 1986.
Lloyd-Jones, H. The Justice of Zeus University of California Press, 1971.
Pomeroy, S. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves Schocken Books, 1975.
Roberts, D.H. Apollo and his Oracle in the Oresteia Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, c1984.
Rosenmeyer, T.G. The Art of Aeschylus University of California Press, c1982.
Taplin, O. The stagecraft of Aeschylus Clarendon Press, 1989.
The following commentaries are also to be found in the Rhodes University Library:
Agamemnon (edd. Denniston, J.D. and Page, D.L.)
Choephori (edd. Garvie, A.F.)
Eumenides (edd. Podlecki, A.J.)
Photocopies of the following can be borrowed from the School of Languages –
contact the Secretary:
Agamemnon (edd. Denniston, J.D. and Page, D.L.)
Dover, K. 'Some neglected aspects of Agamemnon’s dilemma' Journal of Hellenic Studies Vol. 93, 1973.
Vermaak, M. and Jackson, J.L. 'Blaming Agamemnon' Akroterion Vol. 35 ¾, 1990.

